Nobel Prize winner Mexican writer Paz wrote in "The Labyrinth of Lonely":
For people in New York, Paris, or London, death is something they would never mention, because the word would burn their lips. However, Mexicans, on the contrary, are close to death, ridicule death, caress death, sleep with death, and celebrate death. Death is one of the favorite toys of Mexicans, and it is the eternal love of Mexicans.
Para el habitante de Nueva York, París o Londres, la muerte es la palabra que jamás se pronuncia porque quema los labios. El mexicano, en cambio, la frecuenta, la burla, la acaricia, duerme con ella, la festeja, es uno de sus juguetes favoritos y su amor más permanente.
I have lived in Mexico City for five years. The three words "Mexico", in the eyes of many people, are synonymous with drug dealers, a land in danger. I entered Tijuana, Mexico overland from San Diego. Just two places separated by a wall, I felt like I was stepping from heaven to hell in an instant, and the entry gate at night made the tension at its extreme. The next three and a half months traveling across Mexico from north to south completely overturned my impression of this country. The small town of Guadalajara along the street with orange trees, Guanajuato that overturned the palette, and the strange Oaxaca Day of the Dead cemetery, scenes of memories clearly emerge in front of you. After the trip to Mexico, I went to more than ten countries in Latin America to wander around. I never forget this colorful cactus country. A year later, I made up my mind to return to Mexico and settled down here. I continue to love this beautiful country deeply.
"Dream Travels" takes the Mexican Day of the Dead as a background, tells the story of family entanglement between boys in small towns in Mexico and their families. The world was released in Mexico one month in advance, in order to show it to Mexican audiences just before the Mexican Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead is a real festival in Mexico. After watching the movie, I took the opportunity to go to six characteristic Mexican towns to experience this peculiar festival in person. The Mexicans’ optimism and celebration of death were shocking!
The familiar Mexican culture scenes in the film moved me in Mexico! Through this exquisite love letter from the film, the creators show their love for Mexico to the fullest.
(Except for stills and special instructions, the full text photos are all taken on-site in Mexico in the past five years)
Premiere exhibition
The film premiered at Cineteca, a Mexican national theater dedicated to the spread of film culture, and there was also an exhibition on the theme of "Dream of Dreams".
Mexican paper cutting
The film begins with a special narrative method called a large number of paper-cuts. Some viewers think that Pixar is trying to please Asian audiences and add Chinese elements. But in fact, when the Mexican people celebrate various festivals, they often hang a string of colored paper paintings. The appearance is similar to Chinese paper-cutting, so the name is Mexican paper-cutting. Mexican paper-cutting is not "cutting" paper, but is chiseled out from a stack of papers with a hammer and awl.
marigold
In the film, the orange flowers of the MiG’s dressing altar and the orange petals flowing on the bridge of the dead are marigolds, the protagonist flower of the Day of the Dead, also known as the smelly hibiscus, the flower of the dead, the flower of death, and the Aztec chrysanthemum. . The marigold flowers are solid, and the petals are densely packed like sunflower seeds, and the whole is wrapped into a sphere, with as many as five hundred petals.
Marigold flowers are native to Mexico. The Mexican people believe that the brilliant orange color of marigolds and its unique herbal aroma will lead the souls of dead people home during the Day of the Dead. Therefore, marigolds are used overwhelmingly in cemeteries and altars.
The Day of the Dead is on November 1st and 2nd every year. Three months in advance, the flower farmers started planting seeds, and they could harvest them on the eve of the Day of the Dead. In mid-to-late October, you can see marigold fields in the states of Puebla and Michoacán.
Altar
The main celebration place of the Day of the Dead: one is the altar; the other is the cemetery. The altar is generally divided into several floors, with pictures of the deceased relatives placed on the top. The other layers are placed on the food they liked during their lifetime: Mexican food, candy, sweet bread (especially the special food during the Day of the Dead, which will be discussed later), if adults will put tequila, Coca-Cola, etc., children will Put your favorite toys. It is also possible to put on a basin, bath towel, and mirror to cleanse the returned undead. Candles will be lit throughout the altar, and sugar skulls and marigolds will be placed. The ground will be sprinkled with splendid marigold petals, and the unique smell and dazzling color of marigold will lead the undead back home. The orange petals scattered all the way in the MiG’s courtyard in the film are not artistic effects of the film, but a true tradition in Mexico.
One of the altar items-magic sauce
Magic sauce is known as the national dish of Mexico. When it arrived in front of my eyes, I was deeply surprised by its presentation. The special thing about this dish is the magic sauce drizzled on the huge chicken thighs. In addition to the common garlic, onions, and tomatoes, the unique ingredients include chocolate, cloves, parsley, almonds, cinnamon, several kinds of dried and raw peppers, etc. There are more than 30 kinds of ingredients. After all the pulp is pulverized, and then boiled for countless hours, the process is astonishingly complex. The fragrant white sesame seeds sprinkled in the magic sauce immediately enhance the artistic sense of the whole dish. Once down, the scent of sesame seeds hits immediately, followed by the slightly sweet sauce, which has a mellow and rich taste. But after eating this dish, I felt a lot of fat stuck in my throat.
Altar Item 2-Sugar Skull
Sugar skulls, this is an important food during the Day of the Dead, and it is also an indispensable thing to dress up the altar. The main body of the sugar skull is generally made of white sugar, and then painted with colorful lines and patterns. Sometimes raw materials such as chocolate and amaranth are used as the main body, and peanuts are used as the teeth.
Altar Item 3-Undead Bread
The representative food of the Day of the Dead is the Bread of the Dead, also known as the Bread of the Dead. The contours of the raised bones on the surface of the undead bread are arranged in a circle, representing the cycle of life. Around the Day of the Dead, Mexican bakeries, supermarkets, etc. sell undead bread, and everyone buys them home and eats them and also uses them to decorate the altar.
Altars do not only exist in residents' homes. Most public places such as bus stations, government agencies, schools, etc. will display altars in mid-October. Photos on the altars are employees, celebrities and even pets.
cemetery
Mexicans do not think of the cemetery as a place of sorrow and terror, but a place of recollection of joy. On the Day of the Dead, they will clean and dress up the cemetery, and put the favorite food of the deceased relatives like an altar, waiting for them to return, and sometimes they will invite a band to play in the cemetery. Among the six traditional towns for the Day of the Dead that I tracked this time, the tombs in the small town of Tzintzuntzan in Michoacan were stunningly beautiful!
At night, the tomb was lit by candles, and the local people who came to pay homage took quilts and food to sit beside the tomb. They were prepared to guard the whole night. Visitors were allowed to walk through the tomb and take photos without being disturbed. Occasionally, tourists asked, and they answered very friendly.
Not all cemeteries use marigold flower stands. For example, the cemetery in the township of San Antonico Tecomitl is uniquely creative. Enjoying the treatment of celebrities with a group of young and beautiful friends, we were chased for a group photo along the way, and we were taken to their cemetery to take pictures. They used the silt to squeeze out their favorite shapes before their deaths, including Dragon Ball, SpongeBob SquarePants, Spider-Man, Speedway, and Pyramid. The deepest impressions are: the jaguar covered with blossoming golden flowers, the bullring that can be operated by humans, the magnificent eagle warrior and the Quetzalcoatl. Every few steps, the creativity and artistic power of the ordinary people in the Mexican countryside shine brightly!
Mexican Hairless Dog
The hairless dog (Xoloitzcuintle) originated in Mexico and is closely related to the ancient Mexican civilization Aztec. It is a dog breed with a long history of 5,000 years. The Aztecs believed that hairless dogs would accompany the soul of the dead to Mictlan, the underworld of the Aztecs, so when the owner of the dog died, the dog was sacrificed and buried with the owner. It was a gift given to the Aztecs by Xolotl (God of Soul). It was made from the debris of the bones of life, so the Aztecs considered hairless dogs very sacred. It is also because of this legend that Dante, the dog in the film, can travel between Yin and Yang at will.
During the Spanish colonization of Mexico, hairless dogs were almost extinct. The colonists found that the New World of America lacked meat and that hairless dogs could provide rich protein and nutrition, so they ate a lot of these dogs. Furthermore, it is closely connected with the Aztec civilization, so the colonists spared no effort to destroy it, with the goal of destroying the traces of the indigenous civilization. The Indians hid the hairless dog in remote mountains such as Oaxaca and Guerrero for hundreds of years before allowing the sacred hairless dog to survive.
Now there are a few people kept as pets, and the price is not cheap. Personally, I think it's really ugly, because black skin is not always smooth, and there are often sores on it. Dozens of hairless dogs can be seen on the large lawn of the Museo Dolores Olmedo Museum in southern Mexico City.
Frida
Frida Kahlo, a legendary female painter in Mexico, is probably the most famous female painter in the world. Almost all European and American countries know it, but their popularity in Asia is relatively low. Her own characteristics of the word eyebrows, her life has been bumpy, and her fate is tedious. She suffered from polio at the age of 6, and suffered a car accident at the age of 18. After 35 operations in her lifetime, she was half-paralyzed and loved to draw abstract and fragmented self-portraits. Her most famous paintings are basically self-portraits. You can see her image of art in the streets and alleys of Mexico.
After the Mexican Revolution in 1920, Mexico’s national pride rose. Many artists such as Frida began to abandon European culture, looking for the roots of Mexican culture-indigenous civilization. They incorporated hairless dogs into their art works to let the public know this. Precious dog breed. It was their promotion that saved this endangered dog breed. Frida himself also keeps several Mexican hairless dogs as pets, so Frida is excited when he sees the hairless dogs in the film.
You can visit her former residence in Mexico City-the Blue House. She was born here and died here. There are too many stories and sorrows here.
Recommend the famous movie "Frida", which covers almost all the important events of Frida's life. The rhythm is fast, the music and the pictures are quite good, and it is very enjoyable to watch.
architecture
MiG steps on the Marigold Bridge to the City of the Dead. In the ancient world heritage city of Morelia, the ancient aqueduct bridge hole, the marigold flower bunches hanging down from the bridge, like orange waterfalls pouring down.
The pyramids connected by the chrysanthemum bridge are the immigration and customs of the City of the Dead. The typical Mexican pyramid shape, such as the Teotihuacan site, is one hour northeast of Mexico City. The feathered serpent temple in the ruins is dedicated to the god of Central America-the feathered serpent god, and the head of the feathered serpent god also appears in the film.
The city of the dead is based on the Mexican city of Guanajuato. The small city has exquisite architecture and exhausted the colors of the world, and it is called "the palette of God overturned." Guanajuato's terrain is undulating, with alleys and tunnels crisscrossing, like a movie city of the dead. At night parade concerts, the band took everyone to play and sing on the stone road in the ancient city, passing through the twists and turns of alleys, and entering the scene of the Xunyuhuanyouji music arena, with endless aftertastes.
The city of the undead stands in the water, here alluding to the past of Mexico City. Columbus discovered the New World, after which the Spaniards came to Mexico City in 1519. At that time, Mexico City was still a vast lake, and the indigenous Aztecs lived in floating gardens in the lake. They used unique construction techniques to make small islands out of tree stumps, silt and other materials. Mexican willow trees are planted around the island. Its roots penetrate deep into the lake bottom and combine with vines to fix the island. Vegetables, fruits and flowers will be planted on the island to supply the residents of the city. The island city is surrounded by water, the rivers in the city are crisscrossed, and the scenery is beautiful, making the Spanish colonizers who first met, as if in a dream. After the Spaniards conquered the Aztecs, they released water from the lake, filled the lake to build a city, and established the present-day Mexico City. This mural is a masterpiece by the famous Mexican muralist Rivera (also the husband of the former female painter Frida). It depicts the floating garden where the indigenous Aztecs lived at that time. Many temples were built in the center to worship their various gods. The most important and tallest temple is the Great Temple, which is used to worship the two main gods, the god of water and the god of war.
In the film, the bottom of the tower is the indigenous pyramid, gradually upwards are colonial buildings such as Spanish churches, and the top is modern high-rise buildings, which are historical architectural styles that follow the passage of time, indicating that people who come to the city of the dead are gradually building from bottom to top.
The design of the Central Station in Land of the Dead is based on the luxurious Mexico City National Post Office.
The home of Geshen is inspired by the Gran Hotel in Mexico City, pay attention to the roof.
Mariachi Music
In order to express the Mexican culture vividly, the film production staff can be described as painstakingly and have spent many years in Mexico on field inspections. The music in the film uses many local Mexican musical instruments and invited famous Mexican bands to produce. Even the small details such as the way the protagonist boy MiG plays the guitar are strictly simulated in reality. Mariach musicians appear in the film. This kind of music is listed as the world's intangible cultural heritage and one of the symbols of Mexico. A street band usually consists of at least five members, including violinists, trumpeters, and Mexican guitarists, and sometimes it can reach more than ten. They usually wore gorgeous costumes decorated with metal inlays and played melodious music together.
The god of song Dracuse is also a Mariachi singer, his prototype is mostly the famous actor and singer Pedro Infante in Mexican history (a small part is Jorge Negrete, Vicente Fernández and other famous Mariachi musicians). He was the pillar of the golden age of Mexican cinema and the icon of the Latin American people.
Undead skull face
The black and white face painted by Miguel is a special way of celebrating the face painted by the Mexican people during the Day of the Dead. The grandest is the "Goddess Catrina's Face Painting Parade", which is held in Mexico City on Saturday two weeks before the Day of the Dead. Dedicated to the most important character of the Day of the Dead, Katrina, the Skeleton Goddess, was founded by Jose Guadalupe in 1910. She is a scrawny and elegant skeleton lady. More than two hundred makeup artists set up a stall on Reform Avenue and started painting skull faces for passers-by, 150 Mexican pesos per time. There are pictures and pictures to choose from, or you can tell the makeup artist what style you want. The makeup artist was busy painting for eight hours from morning to night. When night fell, tens of thousands of people with painted faces gathered around the costumed skeleton goddesses all the way through the night, a fantasy scene.
Color monster
Inspired by the nightmare of the artist with a high fever, the chaotic splicing of different parts of various animals produced one of Mexico's greatest folk art-the colorful monster Alebrijes, the prototype of the great-great-grandmother Imelda in the movie to mount a small pumpkin. Mexico City's Day of the Dead will hold the "Colorful Monster Parade" on Saturdays three weeks before November 1.
There are two styles of monsters: one is made of the above-mentioned paper shell and is used for large monsters; the other is small, carved from pine wood, which can be made very fine, convenient to carry and store, and used for home decoration, and has a wider spread.
The woodcarving is the most exquisite in Oaxaca. Copal pine trunks are unique in shape, which is most suitable for carving Alebrijes. The artist uses rich imagination and according to the natural growth of the wood, numerous ideas have emerged. The whole engraving process needs to be dried repeatedly to let the pine wood dry from the outside to the inside. It takes at least 30 days for small pieces and up to one year for large pieces. The pigments used for painting come from natural animals and plants (cochineal, wood blue, pomegranate peel, etc.), and then mixed with zinc and calcium to produce a variety of colors. For example, pomegranate peel+calcium turns yellow, and pomegranate peel+wood blue turns green.
"Looking for Dreams" is promoted in Mexico
On the eve of the Day of the Dead, there will be more than fifty large skulls about 2 meters in diameter on Reform Avenue in Mexico City to create an atmosphere, each of which is hand-painted by different artists. Make.
On the Saturday of the week before the Day of the Dead, there is also the most famous and popular "Ultimate Parade of the Day of the Dead". Various large-scale skeleton vehicles and skeleton frames appeared, and colorful monster pumpkins appeared.
Pixar's authorized "Coco Night Run", got a number plate and a colorful Dandan T-shirt. Arrived at the stadium in the evening, the atmosphere was very good. The film director also appeared on the screen to express his gratitude to the 6500 contestants. Afterwards, singer Carlos Rivera, who sang "Remember Me" in the Spanish version, also gave a speech. The fireworks screen of the banquet of the god of song appeared. I participated in the 7 kilometers and walked through the university campus. Every time I ran for a kilometer, the altar and the characters in the Dreaming Circle Travels appeared. The most pleasant thing was that in the end, I got a heavy medal, which is very delicate and weighty!
Mexican wrestling
Mexican Wrestling (Lucha Libre), a wrestling performance that combines drama and comedy, is a fun sport that originated in Mexico City. The contestants will wear a variety of characteristic masks and perform dazzling performances. At the entrance to the party of the god of song, El Santo, the god of wrestling in the history of Mexican wrestling, appeared, so the guard at the door hurriedly asked for a group photo. The Arena Mexico wrestling arena in Mexico City is the best place to watch this sport.
Tiankeng
The cliff and pool of water are taken from the famous sinkhole in the Yucatan Peninsula in southern Mexico. The Yucatan Peninsula is a large piece of limestone, and rainwater is particularly easy to penetrate. Over time, the limestone collapsed, revealing the blue and cool groundwater. This is an area where the Mayan civilization prospered. The Mayans believed that the tiankeng was the entrance to the underground world of Xibalba, and they often performed sacrifices in the tiankeng. There are more than 6,000 sinkholes on the Yucatan Peninsula, and it is one of the must-see attractions in the Yucatan area.
This is a country that subverts your imagination, giving birth to profound ancient civilizations such as Maya, Aztec and Olmec, as well as the cultures of 68 ethnic minorities, rich and diverse cuisines, bizarre festivals, and towering towers. Cactus, the blue of the Caribbean Sea and the world's top handmade art.
I have been exploring in Mexico for five years, and I am still digging deeper. You can follow in my footsteps on the following platforms to learn about Mexican culture and life in real time. I am waiting for you in sunny and colorful Mexico!
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